>>>>>>Through special constructive developments like an increased number of teeth per gear and the choice of using roller bearings for the planetary gears, running the gearbox within an oil bath and extremely rigid construction of the overall gearbox, the working efficiency of the Rohloff SPEEDHUB 500/14 is brought up to 96% (for gears #1 to #7) and 98% (for gears #8 to #14).

This working efficiency is comparable to a derailleur gear system. Common seven speed gear hubs reach a working efficiency of approx. 90% (gear #1) and 98% (direct drive gear). Again we observe our test rider, now pedaling up a hill with 200W of input power. When using the Rohloff SPEEDHUB 500/14 or a derailleur gear system, he will loose approx. 4% of output power (when riding in gear #4 as this is comparable to the first gear of a seven speed gear hub) which is 8W.<<<<<

I find this hard to believe. Nexus made similar claims about their 7 speed hub and I believed it hook, line and sinker. They claim the new Nexus 8 is even more efficient but I doupt this is a fact. I have ridden planetary gear bikes from Sturmey Archer, Sram and Shimano and ALL suffer from friction losses. There is no oil bath out there that will eliminate friction completely. A hub with many gears by default generates more friction than one with less gears because there are more moving parts.

The author talks about less stress when shifting which is a valid point. What he did not state is that your rear wheel is VERY HEAVY thus causing you to exert more energy than one using a cassette. Some road bikers can help me with the math here but for every ounce of weight you reduce on the wheels creates a significant performance gain. That Rohloff wheel is heavier than the Nexus 7 which feels like I have a water bottle attached to the rear wheel! It's not bad if you're making a commuter bike but is a significant consideration if performance is an issue. The most expensive wheel sets in production are the lightest and a big heavy hub in the back defeats this purpose. The Ultegra 9 speed hub weights a little over 400g and the Rohloff is how many pounds?? Whatever efficiencies gained in shifting will be wasted in moving that rear wheel. Trust me.

Hey... I like the Rohloff. If I were rich, I'd buy one tomorrow. Lets be honest. It's not the greatest thing in the world. Keep the 9 speed folks.